


the tree in the backyard (our tree)

by mysteriouslydelightfulchaos



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Awkward Flirting, Childhood Memories, Childhood Sweethearts, Crushes, M/M, Neighbors, Romantic Fluff, Teasing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-17
Updated: 2019-08-17
Packaged: 2020-09-02 13:49:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20276914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mysteriouslydelightfulchaos/pseuds/mysteriouslydelightfulchaos
Summary: Set in a world where Monroe never exists, Nolan grows up and falls in love with his neighbor. Along the lines he discovers that sometimes childhood crushes are reciprocated and that good things happen.Or Nolan's memories involving a tree and his cute neighbor, later turned boyfriend.





	the tree in the backyard (our tree)

**Author's Note:**

> Gabe and Nolan never became hunters. They're best friends and Gabe is in art club and dance team. He's seeing Josh who works at a flower shop.

Nolan Holloway is five years old when he decides he's in love. His mom smiles and runs her fingers through his hair. His dad on the other hand laughs and only stops when his wife gently hits him with a cooking spoon. Nolan simply smiles and rushes back outside towards the big tree that's been there since forever. His parents don't mention it again but Nolan simply knows he is in love.

Nolan is seven years old when he has his first kiss. It happens when he's doozing off, underneath the same big tree, where he determined he was in love. He's on the edge of sleep when a shadow covers him and he cracks open his eyes.

The taller boy is bouncing on the heels of his feet and Nolan blinks up at him, as if asking why he's here. The boy quickly leans down and presses a quick, barely there kiss onto Nolan's lips. Then just as fast as he appeared he's gone. Nolan doesn't fall asleep, instead he dreams of the warmth that he felt when the other boy had kissed him. He doesn't stop smiling and his parents don't ask why. It almost as if they already know.

Nolan is twelve years old when he experiences his first heartbreak. He's pressed up against the base of the big tree. Tears in his eyes, dried ones on his face. His parents aren't home this time, his mom working on a research paper off in Denmark and his dad is off showing his art to the world.

He doesn't hear the gate opening but he sees the shadow falling on him. He looks up, the tall boy from his childhood is there. He doesn't say anything simply drops himself down next to Nolan. He wraps his arm around Nolan's shoulders and hugs him. Nolan doesn't say anything either he just let's himself be held.

They stay there till Nolan calms down. He peeks up towards the other boy who is already looking down at him. Nolan feels a flush on his face and turns away. He pulls away and mumbles something akin to a thanks and bolts inside.

A few minutes later, he peeks out and sees that the boy is getting up and walking back to his side of the fence. Nolan turns away and tries to calm his beating heart. Looks like his childhood crush is back with a vengeance.

Nolan is so _screwed._

Nolan is fourteen when he meets his best friend. Gabe is artistic and outgoing, he's Nolan's best friend and protector. Nolan is waiting for him outside the art store when a body bumps into him. Nolan yelps and almost drops his milkshake. He barely manages to hold onto it when the other body takes off running.

Gabe exits the store bag full of art supplies and materials. He gives Nolan a look but doesn't ask as they begin walking down the sidewalk. They make it to the shop ran by Mr. Asper and Gabe immediately drags Nolan into the flower shop. Nolan doesn't protest, he likes the flower shop.

Mr. Asper is restocking the aisles and smiles when he sees them. They both smile back and start looking around. Gabe immediately heads for the bouquets of flowers, all especially picked to say something. Nolan meanwhile picks up a few flowers to make an apology bouquet for his mom.

“Do you need help?”

Nolan swirls around and finds Josh Diaz. He's in an apron that Nolan duly notes has the shop's logo and name on it. Nolan nods and Josh makes his way over. He smiles and asks Nolan what he's making the bouquet for.

“I... Well I need to say sorry to my mom for forgetting about her dinner and heading into the kitchen with ratty old pajamas on.”

If Josh finds it amusing, he doesn't show it. Instead he whirls away towards different displays and then makes his way back towards Nolan. In Josh's hands is a bouquet of purple flowers. Nolan blinks but Josh hands him it and then says.

“Purple hyacinth, it means I am sorry, please forgive me and it always stands for sorrow.”

Nolan clutches the flowers and nods in thanks. Then a loud noise is heard and they both look over to see that Gabe knocked over a display. He shuffles and Josh sighs a bit and swiftly turns to pick the flowers up. Nolan smiles and goes to help. Gabe meanwhile is blushing and refusing to even look at Josh or Nolan.

After the display is picked up Nolan and Gabe leave and Nolan teases Gabe about being a klutz. He protests and says it's not his fault that Josh's face lights up when talking about flowers.

Nolan is seventeen years old and he's on the lacrosse team. Gabe isn't, he's in the art club and dance team. Nolan's freckles are more pronounced now that he spends his time after school outdoors in the sun. Nolan's changing when he's suddenly hyperaware of eyes on him. He pulls his shirt on and straightens up, he turns around ready to just go home when a figure catches his eye.

Liam Dunbar is talking to a tall blonde guy and looks five seconds away from punching him. Corey Bryant and Mason Hewitt are nowhere to be found. Nolan quickly slings his bag over his shoulder and heads over. Nolan purposefully hits the bench and Liam turns around and says “Nolan, hey, what's up?”

The blonde guy looks familiar but Nolan puts that away for later. “Are you gonna need a ride? Or is Theo picking you up?”

Liam shifts and gestures to blondie. “Nah, I'm getting a ride with this guy. See you tomorrow.”

Nolan nods and makes his way to the parking lot, aware of eyes tracking his movements. He meets up with Gabe and Josh at the car. They're holding hands and Gabe has dried paint on his hands and Josh is wearing a flower crown on his head. Nolan smiles and they agree to meet up at the dinner.

Nolan manages to make it before Josh and Gabe. He smirks and gets out of the car, he heads inside and gets a booth. He waves off the waiter and decides to wait for Josh and Gabe. He pulls out his phone and scrolls through Instagram. The bell chiming makes him look up and he finds Liam, Theo, Mason, Corey and two others entering.

Nolan shifts and his phone vibrates, a message from Gabe.

[From: Gabey]

Me and Josh are gonna be there soon. Order us the usual, only get Josh salad instead of fries, he doesn't deserve fries after what he did

[To: Gabey]

What did he do, for you to torture him?

[From: Gabey]

The fucker ate my cheesecake, not even god will save him

Nolan laughed a bit too loudly and some patrons looked over at him. He covered his mouth and set his phone down to flag the waiter over. He ordered and the waiter left, then a body slipped into the seat across from him. Nolan looked up, Liam's friend, blondie was sitting in front of him. He blinked and turned around to see Liam staring in amusement.

A quick once over and Nolan saw that the others had a mixture of looks. Theo had a look on his face that made Nolan think that the reason Blondie was here, is him. Mason had a thoughtful look and Corey looked apologetic yet satisfied. The other teen, a girl, smirked and giggled. He turned back to Blondie.

“Um, hi? Can I help you?”

“Hi, we haven't been formerly introduced. I'm the love of your life.” a laugh sounded from behind them and Nolan resisted the urge to turn.

“I- what? Excuse me?”

Blondie just smiled and leaned across the table, his nose near Nolan's throat. “You smell really good.” and with that Blondie slide out of the booth and went back to the others. Nolan sat there frozen, because he remembered that voice, _oh fuck._

Nolan's childhood crush is back with a vengeance, again.

Brett Talbot, the bane of Nolan Holloway's existence.

Gabe's voice pulled him out of his thoughts. “Nolan, hey, hey are you good?” Nolan looked up and nodded, Gabe gave him a look and slide into the booth. Josh slide in after him and then the waiter showed up with their food.

“Where's my fries?”

“I told Nolan not to order you any, cheesecake stealer!”

Nolan laughed and stealthy pushed a fry towards Josh and Gabe let out a threat to ruffle Nolan's perfectly done hair. All was good and Nolan forgot about his encounter.

~~~~~~~

Friday night is game night. Nolan arrives at the lacrosse field and dodges coach's wrath by already being dressed in his jersey. He spots the stands filling up already and catches Gabe's eyes. In Gabe's hands is s hand painted sign with Nolan's jersey number and an encouraging message. Josh is there grinning widely and cheering even though the game hasn't even started.

Nolan's parents are sitting in front of Gabe and Josh. His mom spots him and smiles at him. His dad is talking with Gabe's dad but Nolan could see that he was proud. Liam's voice brings his attention to the team. Corey is there grinning and Nolan jogs over to join them.

“Alright boys, this is Devenford. If we win this then I'll finally have a good reason to drink.”

“Uh, coach-”

“Quiet! Now let's get on that field and show them who we are.”

The team breaks and Nolan is sitting on the bench lacing his shoes. A shadow falls, blocking the lights above the field. Nolan looks up into silvery-blue eyes and his heart skips slightly. Brett is watching him and then he leans in.

Their faces a few inches apart, breath mingling together, Nolan's eyes flick towards his lips and Brett is the one to close the distance. Faintly he hears Liam going “Brett! What the hell are you doing?!” but Nolan can't find himself to care. Brett pulls away and his gaze is firm and he lets go of Nolan's jersey and turns back.

“Good luck, see you after the game!”

Nolan is rooted in his spot, he vaguely makes out Liam rushing over and asking questions and Mason going “Oh my god, he _broke_ Nolan.” A whistle blows and Nolan heads onto the field. He catches Brett's eyes and gets ready to play the game of his life.

It was in the 2nd quarter when Liam had the ball, Nolan saw Brett moving in to tackle him. Nolan went on instinct, he ran and then tackled Brett himself, they fell on the grass and Nolan stifled a hiss a pain. He turned to see Liam had scored, he rolled away and got up. Brett was up already and Nolan half expected him to go to his team. He did but when he passed Nolan he said “You might have tackled me but next time it'll be you.”

With that he jogged towards his teammates. Nolan swallowed and turned to the others, a whistle blew and the game resumed. God, Nolan was _utterly fucked._ It happened three more times, once in the 2nd quarter and twice in the 3rd. Nolan took a deep breath and calmed his heart's erratic beat. They were tied, he caught Liam's eyes and then looked at Brett, who was already watching him.

“You need to make sure Brett doesn't get the ball, he's the captain, and the star player. They'll be counting on him to make the last shot.”

“Alright, just make sure you get the ball when it falls out of his stick.”

“Alright, lets give them hell.”

A whistle and the ball was thrown around, it was caught by Brett, he ran and Nolan chased after him. He shifted and then tackled him. The ball fell and rolled, Liam picked it up and ran. Nolan rolled off of Brett, just as the final buzzer rang and his teammates cheered, they'd won. He held out a hand and Brett took it. Nolan accidentally pulled a little too much and stumbled back as he was face to chest with Brett.

Brett steadied him and they stood there staring at one another. Nolan nervously gripped Brett's green jersey and pulled him to eye level. “I _won.”_ and kissed him before running off towards his friends and family.

~~~~~~~

Nolan is still seventeen, only he's seventeen and has a boyfriend and larger friend group. Nolan watches as Gabe and Liam argue over a video game and Josh tries to not laugh and fails when Gabe starts flailing around. Nolan smiles and suddenly arms wraps around him. He hums quietly and Brett says softly “We need to talk.”

Nolan freezes, it was going good, wasn't it? None of their friends seem to notice. Only Gabe looks over, because Gabe is so attuned to Nolan, that it's almost like their souls are connected. Nolan shoots him a weak smile and lets Brett lead him outside, they stop at the big tree, Nolan's tree.

Brett shuffles and settles down, in the shade at the base of the tree, he tugs Nolan onto his lap and rests his chin on Nolan's hair. A beat of silence and Nolan is still a bundle of nerves.

“Do you remember the first time you saw me?” A nod. “I remember the first time I saw you, little five year old, freckled faced and blue eyed boy who I decided that no matter what I would marry. My adopted mom laughed but didn't say it was impossible.”

Nolan's heart skipped a beat and he felt his face starting to get red.

“I remember the first time I kissed you, you were doozing off right here, Liam was over at my house with Mason, they said I had to kiss what I loved the most. So I opened the fence gate and with all the bravery in my seven year old body, kissed you and ran.”

Nolan laughed and buried his face in Brett's neck. He remembered dreaming about Brett and how warm he felt. Brett lightly pinched Nolan's thigh, he yelped and retaliated by biting him.

“I remember seeing you cry, still under the tree, I wrapped my arm around you and held you. I looked down and thought, no one so pretty and kind like you should waste your tears on a stupid person. Before I could say anything though, you took off into your house.”

Nolan snorts and pulls his head away from Brett's neck. “Yeah, well you were my childhood crush, I figured it would go away, only it just came back and hit me harder than a freight train.”

Brett laughed and leaned down and kissed Nolan's nose, where his freckles were more prominent.

“Nolan, I need to tell you something, and you have to promise me that you won't freak out... okay?”

“Alright, I promise I won't freak out no matter what.”

Brett took a breath and Nolan peered up at him, encouragement on his face.

“Uh, well, I'm a werewolf.”

Nolan blinked and twisted around till he was face to face with his boyfriend. There was no sign of dishonesty in his face. Nolan twisted and turned to see their friends standing at the porch.

“Did- did everyone else know? Who else is a werewolf?”

“Um, well, Liam's a wolf, Theo, Corey and Josh are chimeras.”

“Chimeras? What's that? Wait, you mean-, Gabe knew?!”

Nolan twisted and abruptly stood and looked between his boyfriend and his friends. Brett was starting to get up, Nolan stormed off, hurt pooling in his heart.

“Nolan, where are you going?”

“I'm leaving!”

“Nolan, this is your house...”

“Then I'll go somewhere else! Don't follow me, I- I just need to think okay?”

With that Nolan took off, his legs carrying him to Gabe's house. No one was home, he let himself in the backyard. He opened the vine covered door and slipped into their old hideout. He walked around and found the old light switch, flicking it on he took in the old memories. On the wall were pictures from joint family vacations, the first time Gabe drew Nolan was pinned up, Nolan's first test that he'd gotten an A for was there.

Nolan smiled and gently ran his fingers along the dusty desk. He popped open the window that was hidden and sat down on the old couch. He settled and soon the emotions poured out. How could his friends not tell him? How could Gabe not tell him? His head was swimming with thoughts and his eyes were tearing up, some falling as he thought about everything. Pretty soon, Nolan fell asleep.

~~~~~~~

Nolan was jolted awake by the sound of the door opening, he sleepily blinked and sat up. He turned towards the door and watched as Gabe entered. He sat on the couch, right by Nolan.

“Did you know?”

“Josh... Josh told me... I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I just figured, well, maybe you'd think I was crazy?”

“I would never! You're my best friend, you could never say anything that would make you seem crazy.”

“Why'd you run off?”

“How'd you know I'd be here?”

Gabe laughed and nudged Nolan's shoulder. Nolan smiled slightly and laid his head on Gabe's shoulder. Gabe ran his fingers through his hair.

“I figured, its basically your number one to go place when you're upset.”

“Who else is out there?”

“Oh, you know, just three worried chimeras, two anxious werewolves and one very nervous human.”

“Sounds horrible, hopefully they realize that they can come inside now.”

With that in stumbled the rest. He laughed and Gabe chuckled. Immediately Brett reached for Nolan and held him, pressing kisses on his head and his face.

“I'm sorry”

“I'm sorry I ran off and made you worry.”

“I'm sorry that I didn't record that as blackmail.”

_“Theo!”_

~~~~~~~

Nolan is eighteen years old and he is at peace with his life, he isn't worried about anything.

Nolan is twenty-three years old and he's standing under the same big tree, when his childhood crush asks him to marry him. He accepts and their friends and family are cheering and laughing as they surround them. Nolan is smiling, tears on his face when Brett kisses him and wraps his arms around him.

He finds his parents in the crowd and Nolan gets pulled into a hug by his mom.

“Told you I was in love.”

His mom laughs and his dad snorts and gives him one final squeeze before letting him go. He smiles and heads towards Brett.

“So, in love huh?”

“Not if you keep that smug look on your face.”

Brett laughs and tugs him closer.

“Well, wanna know something?”

“What?”

“Told ya I would marry you.”

Nolan laughs and kisses him.

“Yeah, you definitely did.”

~~~~~~~

Nolan is twenty-six years old and he's happy with his life.


End file.
